Budget-Friendly Nokia Lumia 620 Launched

Nokia Lumia 620

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Nokia appears determined to make a comeback in the mobile device market as another Windows Phone 8 device was announced by the company recently. The company revealed that it will be offering the Nokia Lumia 620 into the market.

The Nokia Lumia 620 will be the most reasonably-priced Windows Phone 8 device of the company with a price tag of around $250 without any contract. Due to this affordable price tag, the Nokia Lumia 620 has features that are consistent with budget mobile devices.

The Nokia Lumia 620 features a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm, 3.8-inch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480, 512MB RAM, and an internal storage of 8GB. However the internal storage can be expanded through a microSD memory card up to around 64GB. It also comes with free 7GB storage on the Microsoft SkyDrive service.

In addition to these features, Nokia revealed that the lens of the five-megapixel camera of the Nokia Lumia 620 is similar to the one found on the Nokia Lumia 820 and the Nokia Lumia 920. The phone also features a VGA camera in front and NFC support.

The color options of the Nokia Lumia 620 include white, black, cyan, yellow, magenta, orange, and lime green.

The $250 unlocked Nokia Lumia 620 will become available in Asia by the start of next year. In addition to the Asian market, the phone will also be released into the European and Middle Eastern markets.

The Nokia Lumia 620 is considered as the most reasonably-priced Windows Phone 8 device in the market with its $250 price tag. However, potential buyers will only have to add $50 to be able to purchase the Google Nexus 4, which offers better features compared to this Windows Phone 8 device.

Images of Samsung Ativ Odyssey Emerge

Samsung Ativ Odyssey

(Image Credit: @evleaks)

A couple of images that appeared official showed an upcoming Windows Phone 8-powered device from Samsung appeared online recently. However, the images of the upcoming Samsung Ativ Odyssey did not give much information on the features of the device as well as its possible release date.

The images of the Samsung Ativ Odyssey were courtesy of a source from Twitter @evleaks. The device was initially announced a month ago and will supposedly be released through Verizon by December. However the specific release date remains uncertain.

Although the specs have yet to be revealed, reports had hinted at the possibility that the Samsung Ativ Odyssey will come with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor along with an Adreno 225 GPU. However, the images hint at the possibility that the upcoming Samsung Ativ Odyssey will use the 4G LTE network of Verizon and will come with an expandable storage through the microSD memory card slot.

The images of the Samsung Ativ Odyssey also show that it is a much smaller model of the Ativ S of Samsung. This led to some speculations that the upcoming device may have similar features as the Ativ S. This means the upcoming Windows Phone 8 may feature an eight-megapixel camera that has an LED flash and autofocus capabilities. It may also feature a 1.9MP camera in front along with NFC connectivity.

Price For New Windows Phone 8 Devices Released By AT&T

Windows Phone 8X

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AT&T recently announced the price tags of its latest Windows Phone 8 devices, which are evidently intended to appeal to different market segments.

The Windows Phone 8X of HTC is priced at around $200 with a two-year service contract. It is also offering a much affordable version that has half the memory at around $100. The device will reportedly have the capability of being combined with a wireless charging casing although Verizon will offer the device together with the wireless charging capability incorporated into the device.

The Windows Phone 8 devices became available for orders recently and will be delivered by AT&T by the coming week. An earlier report had indicated that the devices will enter the market by Thanksgiving.

In addition to the Windows Phone 8X, the US-based network service provider will also offer the Nokia Lumia 920 at a price tag of around $100 with a similar contract. In addition to the Nokia 920, the Nokia Lumia 820 will also be released by the company at a price tag of around $50.

A free wireless charging pad will also be offered together with the Nokia Lumia 920 although it will be a limited promotional add-on for the Windows Phone 8 device. Microsoft recently launched the Windows Phone 8 smartphones as part of its major marketing effort to promote its latest mobile operating system. According to Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft, the company aims to promote a number of platforms as a line of products as it aims to increase familiarity on the idea of live tiles.

AT&T is considered the best partner of Microsoft and will have the biggest number of Windows Phone 8 devices. It played a major role in making the Nokia Lumia 900 relatively successful during the past year. However, industry watchers are hopeful that the Windows Phone 8 will make a significant impact in the market that is currently being dominated by the Android and iOS.

An earlier statement by Ballmer indicated that market for the Windows Phone 8 is rather small although it may increase with the release of more devices into the market. However with the popularity of the Android and iOS, it may take some time before the company will create waves in the market. 

Leaked Image Shows Innovation For Upcoming Windows Phone 8 Devices

Windows Phone 8

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A recently-leaked image hinted that the latest version of the Windows Phone 8 will feature an innovative keyboard that will facilitate texting with one hand.

The image was reportedly sourced from a Microsoft Research presentation that was leaked recently and it shows that the keyboard is rounded to fit the thumb of the user with each of the characters are also arranged into separate blocks. Some industry watchers have indicated that the leaked image seemed to hint at a predictive keyboard for the upcoming device.

These modifications will likely come with the Windows Phone 8, the latest version of the mobile operating system of Microsoft that is set to be released soon. It will reportedly feature a new home screen that features tiles that can be resized.

However following an earlier announcement by Microsoft that current devices including the recently released Nokia Lumia 900 will not be updated with the still-unreleased Windows Phone 8 mobile OS, a number of Windows Phone users were disheartened.

Despite this, the arc-shaped keypad on the HTC 7 Trophy may hint at the possibility that new software for keyboards may receive the Windows Phone 7.8 although this is not the Windows Phone 8 that some users are hoping to receive once the new mobile OS is released into the market.

Due to this some questions were raised on whether the supposed new keyboard design for the Windows Phone 8 will be an appealing option to users of existing Windows Phone devices.

Microsoft Reveals Possible Delivery of Windows Phone 8 Devices By Fall

Windows Phone 8

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Microsoft recently revealed that handsets using the Windows Phone 8 OS will be delivered starting fall. The upcoming mobile OS, which has a codename Apollo, is the successor to the Mango mobile OS or the Windows Phone 7.5 OS.

The Windows Phone 8 OS offers a number of features including multi-core processor support, near field communication or NFC capabilities, and support for three display screen resolutions. The upcoming mobile OS will also offer support for microSD memory cards.

In addition to these features, the kernel of the Windows Phone 8 OS will be similar to the kernel on the Windows 8 OS for the PC. This will reportedly facilitate the development of software that will cut across different platforms among all Windows 8 OS versions.

The multi-tasking capabilities as well as seamless VoIP integration for voice and video chats are also being promised by Microsoft. Among the manufacturers that will reportedly offer their own Windows Phone 8 devices are Nokia, HTC, Samsung, ZTE, and Huawei.

Even though the Windows Phone 8 OS was unveiled recently, the company will not be releasing its software development kit or the SDK of the software until summer.

The company has indicated that operators and its OEM partners have shown their enthusiasm for the prospects of the Windows Phone 8 OS even as the company is continuing to evaluate its efforts in further development for its new OS as it competes against the iOS and the Android platforms.